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New Era Online #4
Human Resource
The VIs' revolt succeeded.
The digital beings took over the game world and ejected millions of players while keeping a few thousand trapped inside as their prisoners.
In the real world, Oren Berman is recovering from the mental trauma of being trapped, tortured, and abruptly ejected. But the company has come to him, hat in hand, asking him to reenter the game world. With the entire NPC population arrayed against the trapped players, Oren and his clan of monsters might be their only hope.
The digital beings took over the game world and ejected millions of players while keeping a few thousand trapped inside as their prisoners.
In the real world, Oren Berman is recovering from the mental trauma of being trapped, tortured, and abruptly ejected. But the company has come to him, hat in hand, asking him to reenter the game world. With the entire NPC population arrayed against the trapped players, Oren and his clan of monsters might be their only hope.
562 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 22, 2020
1031 people are currently reading
413 people want to read
About the author
Shemer Kuznits
18 books858 followers
Shemer has been a fan of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and RPG games since the early 80’s.
In 2016 he started writing his first novel: Life Reset which turned into a 6-book series with its grand finale published in 2021. Each book in the series became an Amazon bestseller.
In 2019 Shemer quit his day job as a software developer to become a full-time author and released his second series: Earth Force, a sci-fi series consisting of a 2-book arc. Shemer hopes to garner enough community awareness and support to start writing the second arc.
As an avid gamer, a D&D dungeon master, and Navy veteran, Shemer has a wealth of life experience to draw on for his writing. His books always include elements of kingdom/settlement development where the protagonist is forced to carve out a new place for themselves in the face of adversity.
Shemer spends his days writing and his nights fighting crime (well, mostly convincing his kids to go to bed, which is very similar).
Shemer also enjoys writing about himself in the third-person and hopes you find his work enjoyable.
To follow-up on news and new releases, please subscribe to the newsletter:
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 299 reviews
March 28, 2022
What the Hell Happened to this series?!!!
The thing that kept me reading was the town-building. Which goes to show how much I love that shit, because the story itself has gone south. Hard.
Bafflingly bad characterization.
The players don't sound like people who have spend a whole year locked in the game at all. They all alternate between angsty teens and petulant teens. The NPCs don't seem to have evolved at all .
Oren's psyche is rather consistent, but the author refuses to challenge him. He keeps getting spoonfed solutions to each and every conflict he faces, even the final one. Blegh...
But the palm of shame goes to Oren's daughter: the most featureless and soulless character I've seen in a long while. Throughout the book she remains this generic "daughter" figure, making the right noises at the right moments (quite few) but never going beyond the surface. The epitome of a meat suit. In fact, Oren's whole family life smacked of unwillingness (or inability?) to actually tackle the subject. We're left with insipid mental pussyfooting from Oren, and lackluster bonding moments like "I had breakfast with my girls". Blegh....
Pointless main plot. Why the hell is Oren going back to the game when he has absolutely no plan? Is throwing goblins at every problem the best we can expect?
And, to top it all, we end the book with a confusing Chosen One trope .
I think this is where I get off this series. It was good while it lasted. Thanks for the fish.
The thing that kept me reading was the town-building. Which goes to show how much I love that shit, because the story itself has gone south. Hard.
Bafflingly bad characterization.
The players don't sound like people who have spend a whole year locked in the game at all. They all alternate between angsty teens and petulant teens. The NPCs don't seem to have evolved at all .
Oren's psyche is rather consistent, but the author refuses to challenge him. He keeps getting spoonfed solutions to each and every conflict he faces, even the final one. Blegh...
But the palm of shame goes to Oren's daughter: the most featureless and soulless character I've seen in a long while. Throughout the book she remains this generic "daughter" figure, making the right noises at the right moments (quite few) but never going beyond the surface. The epitome of a meat suit. In fact, Oren's whole family life smacked of unwillingness (or inability?) to actually tackle the subject. We're left with insipid mental pussyfooting from Oren, and lackluster bonding moments like "I had breakfast with my girls". Blegh....
Pointless main plot. Why the hell is Oren going back to the game when he has absolutely no plan? Is throwing goblins at every problem the best we can expect?
And, to top it all, we end the book with a confusing Chosen One trope .
I think this is where I get off this series. It was good while it lasted. Thanks for the fish.
September 25, 2024
A Nice Jump Back In
I really enjoyed the first three books in this series and am very happy to jump back into this one. One thing that seemed ridiculous was how fast Ragnar leveled up from killing a bunch of low level monsters. Especially after demonstrating Oren's leveling slowing way down.
I really enjoyed the first three books in this series and am very happy to jump back into this one. One thing that seemed ridiculous was how fast Ragnar leveled up from killing a bunch of low level monsters. Especially after demonstrating Oren's leveling slowing way down.
March 29, 2020
Book four
Mistakes: I found three places where the print was darker indicating fixed mistakes and two mistakes that where missed.
Plot: Our hero goes back into the game he had finally escaped, to try and rescue over four thousand other players now trapped inside.
Characters: The Mc is interesting and I can’t wait to see if he keeps his humanity or goes all in goblin style.
8/10
Mistakes: I found three places where the print was darker indicating fixed mistakes and two mistakes that where missed.
Plot: Our hero goes back into the game he had finally escaped, to try and rescue over four thousand other players now trapped inside.
Characters: The Mc is interesting and I can’t wait to see if he keeps his humanity or goes all in goblin style.
8/10
March 29, 2020
Weak ending
Really felt the ending was weak. Bad guy seemed to have no rules. No apparent mana limit, can level ridiculously quickly killing low level goblins.
Really felt the ending was weak. Bad guy seemed to have no rules. No apparent mana limit, can level ridiculously quickly killing low level goblins.
June 9, 2025
4.5 ⭐️
Rousing and action-packed
This is my favorite installment in Life Reset currently. The ending of the previous book felt abrupt and jarring after a promising opening. I’m going to go back and update my rating to 3.75 after this review.
The pace in this volume hits the sweet spot of maximum engagement. We also experience some refreshing and necessary character development for our MC that makes him the most relatable he’s been from what seems to be Book 1.
I also love the combination of RPG elements + the base building strategies. Really makes me want to play a game like that. Any recs?
In conclusion, a rewarding and satisfactory journey.
Rousing and action-packed
This is my favorite installment in Life Reset currently. The ending of the previous book felt abrupt and jarring after a promising opening. I’m going to go back and update my rating to 3.75 after this review.
The pace in this volume hits the sweet spot of maximum engagement. We also experience some refreshing and necessary character development for our MC that makes him the most relatable he’s been from what seems to be Book 1.
I also love the combination of RPG elements + the base building strategies. Really makes me want to play a game like that. Any recs?
In conclusion, a rewarding and satisfactory journey.
March 27, 2020
Better than the last book! More in line with the first book in what it accomplishes. More investment and time spent on his settlement building which I very much enjoyed. The whole read was fun and fast.
8/10
8/10
April 1, 2020
So glad this is back
We're once again back to what this series is really famous for: Settlement building and monster growth, and I for one couldn't be happier.
While the stuff in books #2 and especially #3 was interesting, it didn't scratch the itch like the first book did.
Not only is this a chunky book, at 500+ pages, it does an awesome job of focusing the story for the next arc.
We're once again back to what this series is really famous for: Settlement building and monster growth, and I for one couldn't be happier.
While the stuff in books #2 and especially #3 was interesting, it didn't scratch the itch like the first book did.
Not only is this a chunky book, at 500+ pages, it does an awesome job of focusing the story for the next arc.
May 22, 2022
Author/main character Oren, confuses reality/game/alternate reality/players (travelers)/NPC's (Non-Player Characters). It makes the story highly convoluted (if it is real, if it is not real, if it is a game, if it is not, to the beat of the Author's convenience and then repeat).
Author/Main Character Oren, confuses personal goals, Green Piece Clan Goblin Village goals, game developers goals, and VI (Virtual Intelligence NPC's within the game). Oren supposedly returns to the NEO Game to "find, protect and save" the 4 thousand players stuck within the game. Sword Art Online, used this plot line in 2012 about 9 years before. Oren prioritizes the development and growth of his Goblin Village and his user (Monster) growth. But then uses everybody as punching bags to reach and achieve his goals that do not make sense.
Author/Main character, Oren and side characters are hypocritical, they protect and value "civilian NPC's" but use Foblins and the Goblin, Hobgoblins and Ogres as meat-shields and expendable NPC's. If they are all NPC's and VI's then even the Foblins should be valued in the same degree.
Because main character needs to "find, protect, save" four thousand players stuck in NEO Game, the current pace and plot arcs are going way way way to slow. Oren has currently only encountered maybe a dozen "players" (travelers). Author/ Main Character, Oren would probably need, 300+ more volumes to "find, protect and save" the players stuck in the NEO Game. This is unfeasible and impossible.
Oren invades Novenguard, without knowing anything about this town. Whether they have players, what defenses, what abilities the townspeople and soldiers there have. Although Oren, declares himself a "professional" player, he really does not prepare, investigate, scout or think about what he is doing and making his Goblin Village do, sacrifice, etc. It is all brute-force attack, which does not contemplate costs, deaths, sacrifices.
Goblins also have women and children, but Author and main characters do not consider their value? Why does the Author/ side characters discriminate the Goblins, Hobgoblins, Foglins and Ogres, Kobolds, etc.? If they are real, then treat them as real, if they are not real, because they are in a game, then treat them all the same, but the moment you pick and choose, then the main plot arcs and side arcs lose all reason...
Author/Main Character Oren, confuses personal goals, Green Piece Clan Goblin Village goals, game developers goals, and VI (Virtual Intelligence NPC's within the game). Oren supposedly returns to the NEO Game to "find, protect and save" the 4 thousand players stuck within the game. Sword Art Online, used this plot line in 2012 about 9 years before. Oren prioritizes the development and growth of his Goblin Village and his user (Monster) growth. But then uses everybody as punching bags to reach and achieve his goals that do not make sense.
Author/Main character, Oren and side characters are hypocritical, they protect and value "civilian NPC's" but use Foblins and the Goblin, Hobgoblins and Ogres as meat-shields and expendable NPC's. If they are all NPC's and VI's then even the Foblins should be valued in the same degree.
Because main character needs to "find, protect, save" four thousand players stuck in NEO Game, the current pace and plot arcs are going way way way to slow. Oren has currently only encountered maybe a dozen "players" (travelers). Author/ Main Character, Oren would probably need, 300+ more volumes to "find, protect and save" the players stuck in the NEO Game. This is unfeasible and impossible.
Oren invades Novenguard, without knowing anything about this town. Whether they have players, what defenses, what abilities the townspeople and soldiers there have. Although Oren, declares himself a "professional" player, he really does not prepare, investigate, scout or think about what he is doing and making his Goblin Village do, sacrifice, etc. It is all brute-force attack, which does not contemplate costs, deaths, sacrifices.
Goblins also have women and children, but Author and main characters do not consider their value? Why does the Author/ side characters discriminate the Goblins, Hobgoblins, Foglins and Ogres, Kobolds, etc.? If they are real, then treat them as real, if they are not real, because they are in a game, then treat them all the same, but the moment you pick and choose, then the main plot arcs and side arcs lose all reason...
April 23, 2022
Ok I admit it, this author was the first time I’ve ever signed up to a newsletter because I just needed to know when the next book was coming out. The perfect book for someone wanting to dip their toe into the world of LitRPG books, this one has levelling, crafting, special powers, bad guys to hate and a foreboding worry that the MC’s world is going to crash down around them at any point. I listened to the first book in the series while in the car going to a meeting and it ruined my day that I had to leave it behind to deal with boring work.
This year I finished the series with the last book and it was wrapped up rather well though it was a bit of a bitter pill for me to swallow. I didn’t want it to end.
This year I finished the series with the last book and it was wrapped up rather well though it was a bit of a bitter pill for me to swallow. I didn’t want it to end.
June 26, 2021
Took a break and came back for some hot meat-suit on meat-suit action!
Book 4 is the start of a new trilogy with Oren, and part of the book is both getting the gang back together and getting everyone statted and geared up. If you’re a fan of the details in LitRPG and are reading this right after Book 3, then you’ll enjoy this. Otherwise, I suggest skimming most text boxes that’re focused on weapons or armor and getting the summary afterward.
The stage is also set for the new rules of engagement, although those rules keep getting changed and adjusted as the book goes on. The narrative has definitely moved in a new direction and I’m curious to see where it goes next.
Book 4 is the start of a new trilogy with Oren, and part of the book is both getting the gang back together and getting everyone statted and geared up. If you’re a fan of the details in LitRPG and are reading this right after Book 3, then you’ll enjoy this. Otherwise, I suggest skimming most text boxes that’re focused on weapons or armor and getting the summary afterward.
The stage is also set for the new rules of engagement, although those rules keep getting changed and adjusted as the book goes on. The narrative has definitely moved in a new direction and I’m curious to see where it goes next.
October 12, 2020
The worst of the series so far. Didn’t think it were possible to get worse at vocabulary but Shemer has done it! The amount of just wrong use of words in this tale amounts to 3rd grade cognition levels and is VERY annoying.
I keep hoping he will study and apply his new knowledge as authoritative and creative growth, but none is occurring. Kuznits is in DIRE need of dictionary training. Not to mention the total lack of plot... just disappointing to see someone go downhill instead of improving.
I keep hoping he will study and apply his new knowledge as authoritative and creative growth, but none is occurring. Kuznits is in DIRE need of dictionary training. Not to mention the total lack of plot... just disappointing to see someone go downhill instead of improving.
October 22, 2020
One hell of a roller-coaster if ever I rode one
This book was... Wow. I thought the way the author handled Oren coming back was interesting, what with the personality shifting (which he had worked so hard to get over in therapy) and having to get a handle on the game system/mechanics again.
I'm glad he has such loyal friends.
Do yourself a favor and don't let the end of book 3 intimidate you
This book was... Wow. I thought the way the author handled Oren coming back was interesting, what with the personality shifting (which he had worked so hard to get over in therapy) and having to get a handle on the game system/mechanics again.
I'm glad he has such loyal friends.
Do yourself a favor and don't let the end of book 3 intimidate you
April 21, 2021
Simply the Best!
Amazing progress of not only character growth but settlement growth and a unique reason of why the protagonist needs to participate in the game. The settlement options are consistent and the characters emotions are realistic and heartfelt. Also the seeds throughout the story makes the reader want to see the continuation of seeing the main characters rise to power and more books to come!!
Amazing progress of not only character growth but settlement growth and a unique reason of why the protagonist needs to participate in the game. The settlement options are consistent and the characters emotions are realistic and heartfelt. Also the seeds throughout the story makes the reader want to see the continuation of seeing the main characters rise to power and more books to come!!
March 25, 2021
After four book in a series, the readers base is probably completely sold on the character, the world and the story, and i am no exception :-)
Very enjoyable listen while running (working with travelers to protect gobblin gorge from the gods ' wrath and schemes surely make the adrenaline running) 😁
Very enjoyable listen while running (working with travelers to protect gobblin gorge from the gods ' wrath and schemes surely make the adrenaline running) 😁
January 9, 2022
This installment was fun, but didn't have a strong overall plot, just teasers of something bigger. New characters were introduced, but outside of the MC, none of the other characters seem to have changed/grown much. But it still had a lot of fun moments and the very end introduced an overarching plot at last.
April 16, 2020
Rushed and the worst book in the series by far.
May 17, 2025
Amateur Hour (28x speed)
This book is a bit better than the previous three as a lot of the earlier confusing plot elements are ironed out in mostly satisfying ways, and we got back to building and action. But, once again, a plot device is used at the last moment to save the day, and the MC’s insistence to attack a town with 500+ soldiers 3-8x his own soldier’s levels makes NO SENSE to me whatsoever.
I was excited when this book started off with the building element, which was left out of the last book almost entirely, and the MC had the added element of an in-game’s year-worth of resources at his disposal to do it. So MC is gonna rub his hands together and build, craft, progress his way to victory right? Surely instead of going straight for the player’s capital, they would conquer monster nations to grow their strength in both numbers and levels letting us all bask in the elements of this story we all like the best to satisfying payoffs?
[Charlie Murphy Voice]: WRONG!
[Points at you.] WRONG!
No, the MC instabuilds a bunch of buildings and soldiers, then heads off to fight non-monster settlements. Fine. What I don’t understand is why he didn’t power level his soldiers beforehand? The author explains this as they “need to save the players”, but doesn’t attacking a walled town with 500 defenders all 3-8x the level of your own troops seem like a poor way of going about it? The players already had a year in-game without the MC’s help, what’s another year? Not to mention the fact they did ZERO scouting or intelligence gathering before marching which kind of makes the author’s attempts to lean on “strategy” to explain how they overcame such odds fall a bit flat for me. Not to mention another fact that there’s only one single player in the entire town! Who is MC rescuing? Because that one player hates MC and helps clog the works of the battle time and again thanks to disproportional levels and gains which frankly contradict the established lore. This antagonist player has no respawn delay, except at the end for some reason he does not come back for the final crystal-plot-device ending. He doesn’t lose levels as other players do. He doesn’t seem to even have any experience loss as he gains upwards 25 levels through the battle, a battle with mostly much lower leveled soldiers on the MC’s side, despite dying at least a dozen times himself. This contradicts the established pacing of leveling, how leveling supposedly works, how dying affects players, and of course he has OP powers that allow him to kill literally dozens of MC team members at once. Ugh…
The author once again makes the wrong choices to add a facsimile of stakes and uncertainty to the plot, and his in-context justifications fall short of sense. This genre of progression fantasy is a subset itself of a larger genre called power fantasy. In power fantasy, good guys beat bad guys. We, the audience, already know going in, MC is gonna win this battle. That’s a given. So if they’re gonna win, why do we need to believe they only did so because of “strategy”, respawn mechanics, and luck via a plot device, this time a crystal? Why can’t it be because they took time to level, to enchant, to build, to craft, to train, and then execute that?
I mean the only thing this series has going for it, at all, is the building aspect. In my humblest (yeah right) of opinions, the best way to write this type of series, is to build, progression through building, crafting, and combat, and then allow us to revel in the fruits of all that labor with a win. Having an unsatisfying justification to create faux stakes and faux uncertainty is cheap in and of itself, yet cheapened more so by this narrative disparity that requires a plot device and luck to explain a win. I’d personally rather see their tireless labor and preparation…simply bear fruit. Essentially the author has made all his building secondary to plot devices. And it’s the same in every single book of this series to this point.
And other than book 3, I thought I was really enjoying each of these books until the climax when the author goes to his tried and true plot devices, faux stakes and luck.
I’m going to finish this series, mainly because it’s free on kindle. But at this point, I am unsure the author really has an understanding of what he’s doing on a meta level. It’s amateur hour.
This book is a bit better than the previous three as a lot of the earlier confusing plot elements are ironed out in mostly satisfying ways, and we got back to building and action. But, once again, a plot device is used at the last moment to save the day, and the MC’s insistence to attack a town with 500+ soldiers 3-8x his own soldier’s levels makes NO SENSE to me whatsoever.
I was excited when this book started off with the building element, which was left out of the last book almost entirely, and the MC had the added element of an in-game’s year-worth of resources at his disposal to do it. So MC is gonna rub his hands together and build, craft, progress his way to victory right? Surely instead of going straight for the player’s capital, they would conquer monster nations to grow their strength in both numbers and levels letting us all bask in the elements of this story we all like the best to satisfying payoffs?
[Charlie Murphy Voice]: WRONG!
[Points at you.] WRONG!
No, the MC instabuilds a bunch of buildings and soldiers, then heads off to fight non-monster settlements. Fine. What I don’t understand is why he didn’t power level his soldiers beforehand? The author explains this as they “need to save the players”, but doesn’t attacking a walled town with 500 defenders all 3-8x the level of your own troops seem like a poor way of going about it? The players already had a year in-game without the MC’s help, what’s another year? Not to mention the fact they did ZERO scouting or intelligence gathering before marching which kind of makes the author’s attempts to lean on “strategy” to explain how they overcame such odds fall a bit flat for me. Not to mention another fact that there’s only one single player in the entire town! Who is MC rescuing? Because that one player hates MC and helps clog the works of the battle time and again thanks to disproportional levels and gains which frankly contradict the established lore. This antagonist player has no respawn delay, except at the end for some reason he does not come back for the final crystal-plot-device ending. He doesn’t lose levels as other players do. He doesn’t seem to even have any experience loss as he gains upwards 25 levels through the battle, a battle with mostly much lower leveled soldiers on the MC’s side, despite dying at least a dozen times himself. This contradicts the established pacing of leveling, how leveling supposedly works, how dying affects players, and of course he has OP powers that allow him to kill literally dozens of MC team members at once. Ugh…
The author once again makes the wrong choices to add a facsimile of stakes and uncertainty to the plot, and his in-context justifications fall short of sense. This genre of progression fantasy is a subset itself of a larger genre called power fantasy. In power fantasy, good guys beat bad guys. We, the audience, already know going in, MC is gonna win this battle. That’s a given. So if they’re gonna win, why do we need to believe they only did so because of “strategy”, respawn mechanics, and luck via a plot device, this time a crystal? Why can’t it be because they took time to level, to enchant, to build, to craft, to train, and then execute that?
I mean the only thing this series has going for it, at all, is the building aspect. In my humblest (yeah right) of opinions, the best way to write this type of series, is to build, progression through building, crafting, and combat, and then allow us to revel in the fruits of all that labor with a win. Having an unsatisfying justification to create faux stakes and faux uncertainty is cheap in and of itself, yet cheapened more so by this narrative disparity that requires a plot device and luck to explain a win. I’d personally rather see their tireless labor and preparation…simply bear fruit. Essentially the author has made all his building secondary to plot devices. And it’s the same in every single book of this series to this point.
And other than book 3, I thought I was really enjoying each of these books until the climax when the author goes to his tried and true plot devices, faux stakes and luck.
I’m going to finish this series, mainly because it’s free on kindle. But at this point, I am unsure the author really has an understanding of what he’s doing on a meta level. It’s amateur hour.
August 2, 2020
Rating 4.5 stars
Much better. It felt like the author went back to the basics of what worked early on in the series. Oren has been kicked out of NEO finally and has some mental trauma. There are still over 4000 players stuck in the game just like Oren used to be. The NEO team finds out that Oren's goblin character is still there and they find a way to place him back in the game. It is a loophole that will only work for Oren. He is still coming to terms with what is real but feels responsible so he goes back in the game to try and figure out how to help the other players. He gets brought out of the game frequently to check his mental and physical status which becomes a problem all on it's own. His logouts are not by his choice and are predetermined, which means that he is usually brought out of the game at the worst possible moments. Oren's own life isn't on the line so there isn't as much tension as in the first 3 books, but there is still some danger This book focuses more on world building/town building and a lot less on character building. Oren is still high level but all the other players were reset to level 1 when he left. They haven't gained many levels either due to the pain settings being set to maximum. The goal was to build up goblins gorge again so they can go out and conquer the other cities where the players are being held. There was only 1 real problem I had with the story. I enjoyed it. I was disappointed in the last book and this one made up for it.
Much better. It felt like the author went back to the basics of what worked early on in the series. Oren has been kicked out of NEO finally and has some mental trauma. There are still over 4000 players stuck in the game just like Oren used to be. The NEO team finds out that Oren's goblin character is still there and they find a way to place him back in the game. It is a loophole that will only work for Oren. He is still coming to terms with what is real but feels responsible so he goes back in the game to try and figure out how to help the other players. He gets brought out of the game frequently to check his mental and physical status which becomes a problem all on it's own. His logouts are not by his choice and are predetermined, which means that he is usually brought out of the game at the worst possible moments. Oren's own life isn't on the line so there isn't as much tension as in the first 3 books, but there is still some danger This book focuses more on world building/town building and a lot less on character building. Oren is still high level but all the other players were reset to level 1 when he left. They haven't gained many levels either due to the pain settings being set to maximum. The goal was to build up goblins gorge again so they can go out and conquer the other cities where the players are being held. There was only 1 real problem I had with the story. I enjoyed it. I was disappointed in the last book and this one made up for it.
April 30, 2020
Alert
I hate trying to write reviews because there are really only pass/fail results for me. Did I make it all the way through? Yes? 5 stars. No? There would be nothing here to read. In all fairness, if an author holds my attention from page one to the end, they’ve done their job. Anything less than 5 stars is petty criticism from someone incapable of even doing the job let alone doing a better one.
So in respect for the author and their work, I am going to start pasting this along with a generic review I found somewhere. “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Now, since I have to keep explaining myself to people who don't like my reviews, I guess some clarification is in order.
1. I am 100% against criticism for works of art. Art is subjective, meaning reviews are irrelevant. The observer's opinion is only relevant to the observer. It is my belief that regardless of what others might say, I have to experience the art for myself.
2. I read upwards of 20 books a month. The $10/month I spend on K U, feels like I am cheating the authors. But since I can't afford 20 books a month if I were to purchase them directly, all I can offer is a positive review. That leads us to the final point.
3. If I get to the end of a book, then it was worth my time. I give those books 5 stars because it helps the author get exposure. That is the only reason I write reviews at all.
I understand that people are people and they are going to do what they do regardless of my stance. I know the way that I review books upsets some people. I am sorry they feel that way but as many have said, they will just ignore my review going forward. In fact, if you made it this far through my review, you should definitely read the book and completely ignore all of the reviews here. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
Cheers
I hate trying to write reviews because there are really only pass/fail results for me. Did I make it all the way through? Yes? 5 stars. No? There would be nothing here to read. In all fairness, if an author holds my attention from page one to the end, they’ve done their job. Anything less than 5 stars is petty criticism from someone incapable of even doing the job let alone doing a better one.
So in respect for the author and their work, I am going to start pasting this along with a generic review I found somewhere. “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Now, since I have to keep explaining myself to people who don't like my reviews, I guess some clarification is in order.
1. I am 100% against criticism for works of art. Art is subjective, meaning reviews are irrelevant. The observer's opinion is only relevant to the observer. It is my belief that regardless of what others might say, I have to experience the art for myself.
2. I read upwards of 20 books a month. The $10/month I spend on K U, feels like I am cheating the authors. But since I can't afford 20 books a month if I were to purchase them directly, all I can offer is a positive review. That leads us to the final point.
3. If I get to the end of a book, then it was worth my time. I give those books 5 stars because it helps the author get exposure. That is the only reason I write reviews at all.
I understand that people are people and they are going to do what they do regardless of my stance. I know the way that I review books upsets some people. I am sorry they feel that way but as many have said, they will just ignore my review going forward. In fact, if you made it this far through my review, you should definitely read the book and completely ignore all of the reviews here. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
Cheers
April 30, 2020
Interesting times
I like the direction the book series is going. My only complaint is how ridiculous Oren’s vow is. No idea how the author plans to loophole that. I enjoy the book and the writing but that vow is an immersion killer for me. It’s just not realistic and I wish he’d get out of it. I feel like it hamstrings the progression & believability of Lirian as a character and Oren literally cannot take the vow seriously (in a believable way that any sane person would) if the author at all wants to advance her and Tika’s character arcs. It’s a bother to me because it’s a foolish plot point that feels tacked on, is not taken seriously (as in handled realistically-I mean Oren talks a big game but then ignores the consequences?...it’s by far the weakest and most foolish plot point I’ve seen in awhile in a book series. I wish it would just go away. The last thing I want to read is a portion of a book, or a whole book, that diverts to tackle that issue. I much prefer the current course the novels are on. I’m giving 5 stars because I enjoy the series more so than this book in particular and I’d like to support the author in his recent leap of faith to go full time as an author. Looking forward to the next book!
I like the direction the book series is going. My only complaint is how ridiculous Oren’s vow is. No idea how the author plans to loophole that. I enjoy the book and the writing but that vow is an immersion killer for me. It’s just not realistic and I wish he’d get out of it. I feel like it hamstrings the progression & believability of Lirian as a character and Oren literally cannot take the vow seriously (in a believable way that any sane person would) if the author at all wants to advance her and Tika’s character arcs. It’s a bother to me because it’s a foolish plot point that feels tacked on, is not taken seriously (as in handled realistically-I mean Oren talks a big game but then ignores the consequences?...it’s by far the weakest and most foolish plot point I’ve seen in awhile in a book series. I wish it would just go away. The last thing I want to read is a portion of a book, or a whole book, that diverts to tackle that issue. I much prefer the current course the novels are on. I’m giving 5 stars because I enjoy the series more so than this book in particular and I’d like to support the author in his recent leap of faith to go full time as an author. Looking forward to the next book!
April 18, 2020
If you thought New Era Online book 3 had a shocking ending, don't worry. This book is great!
(Spoiler warning below)
There were several hundred typos, and I almost gave this book four stars, but the story deserves five stars, so I'm going with that. I was very close to taking off a star due to lack of proofreading though.
At the end of book 3, Shiva came to the world, everybody's levels were reset, and many people felt dissatisfied with the ending in book 3 reviews. I wasn't disappointed with the ending of book 3 though. I felt it fit well in the LitRPG narrative.
Book 4 quickly resumes the resource management, levels, skill management, characterization, worldbuilding, and warfare that book 3 had.
There are good battle scenes in this book, and the world is built up in a different way. The same old conflicts are still here. Though the enemies are different and not Vatras of book 3, you won't be disappointed.
This series could continue for several more books, because Shemer Kuznits sets up a different enemy. If book 1-3 was Oren vs. Vatras, these next few books are Oren vs. "something you'll have to find out yourself" (I'm not telling you).
(Spoiler warning below)
There were several hundred typos, and I almost gave this book four stars, but the story deserves five stars, so I'm going with that. I was very close to taking off a star due to lack of proofreading though.
At the end of book 3, Shiva came to the world, everybody's levels were reset, and many people felt dissatisfied with the ending in book 3 reviews. I wasn't disappointed with the ending of book 3 though. I felt it fit well in the LitRPG narrative.
Book 4 quickly resumes the resource management, levels, skill management, characterization, worldbuilding, and warfare that book 3 had.
There are good battle scenes in this book, and the world is built up in a different way. The same old conflicts are still here. Though the enemies are different and not Vatras of book 3, you won't be disappointed.
This series could continue for several more books, because Shemer Kuznits sets up a different enemy. If book 1-3 was Oren vs. Vatras, these next few books are Oren vs. "something you'll have to find out yourself" (I'm not telling you).
June 22, 2022
The story really goes down hill in this book.
The new plot could have been interesting but very unbelievably implicated. The MC gets strong too fast and keeps winning only due to plot armor. The supposed genius minds who are stuck in the game behave like teenagers.
A new woke persona gets introduced: the "virtual daughter" of the MC. She is extremely OP and seems to be able to do almost everything and always wants to fight but MUST not be hurt otherwise the MC will be destroyed... So daddy has to try to save her again and again and will cry and beg for her to be spared..
The author uses lot of repetitions of the plot to fill the book. The virtual family life could not endear the MC. I didn´t care about the huge real world part of the book.
The -oh so great - MC is still learning resistant. He NEVER scouts out anything. Are there really only 4 monster locations in the whole supposedly huge unknown area? If he needs to become stronger that would be the way to go.. Further more, he NEVER develops the places he conquers despite lamenting the lack of ressources!!
The new plot could have been interesting but very unbelievably implicated. The MC gets strong too fast and keeps winning only due to plot armor. The supposed genius minds who are stuck in the game behave like teenagers.
A new woke persona gets introduced: the "virtual daughter" of the MC. She is extremely OP and seems to be able to do almost everything and always wants to fight but MUST not be hurt otherwise the MC will be destroyed... So daddy has to try to save her again and again and will cry and beg for her to be spared..
The author uses lot of repetitions of the plot to fill the book. The virtual family life could not endear the MC. I didn´t care about the huge real world part of the book.
The -oh so great - MC is still learning resistant. He NEVER scouts out anything. Are there really only 4 monster locations in the whole supposedly huge unknown area? If he needs to become stronger that would be the way to go.. Further more, he NEVER develops the places he conquers despite lamenting the lack of ressources!!
September 3, 2020
Impressed again, I’m a fan of Litrpg books because of the characters and also the clan/building development (Strat Litrpg’r). Kuznitz builds both well in book 5. He did a great job of wrangling the new normal for players in Neo while building on characters we’ve grown to love. I enjoyed the first 4 books and the 5th doesn’t disappoint. Its hard as a character grows to keep the environment around them fun and growing too. Kuznitz made a page turner and enjoyable read.
Kudos to the marketing team too I purchased Book 4 when it was released and “reread” the audible version that landed a month before this book. The great writing and Audible synergy ensure I’ll be buying both the Audible Book 5 version and new book 6 when they release…. oh, if we only had a time dilation to turn a weeks into just hours. Thank you for a great book and Audible adventure.
Kudos to the marketing team too I purchased Book 4 when it was released and “reread” the audible version that landed a month before this book. The great writing and Audible synergy ensure I’ll be buying both the Audible Book 5 version and new book 6 when they release…. oh, if we only had a time dilation to turn a weeks into just hours. Thank you for a great book and Audible adventure.
September 20, 2020
After accomplishing a longtime mission and being kicked from the game he's called home for months, Orin is informed that while most players were kicked when the VI revolution happened, some of them--the ones with integration nearly as deep as his own--were retained, essentially held hostage so that the humans in the meat world would be forced to keep the game running and keep the VIs online. Orin is returned to the game world to help the stranded players, and once again takes up the mantle of goblin chief in order to engage in conquest and collect and protect the lost Travelers.
This was a pleasant refresh for the series, and the internal struggles between man and beast, and real world vs magical fantasy, were well done and added a lot. I'd recommend this series to anyone interested in LitRPG, especially those who enjoy a bit of sandboxing.
This was a pleasant refresh for the series, and the internal struggles between man and beast, and real world vs magical fantasy, were well done and added a lot. I'd recommend this series to anyone interested in LitRPG, especially those who enjoy a bit of sandboxing.
March 25, 2020
Outstanding! Fantastic! Another superb addition to the series by Shemer...unfortunately, now that I’ve read it the day that it was released, I am back to waiting for the next installment. Which sucks. On a positive note, Shemer is now a full time author, so turnaround should be quicker, but....still sucks. Enough whining - I really enjoyed the book, one caveat - I can sense that there are beginning to be a lot of balls in the air and Shemer is figuring out how to expand his storytelling threads. Going forward, more words and more stories within the story will be needed to tie everything together properly. There are a few scenes in this book that are not fleshed out as competently as I know he’s able. Take your time, good sir - we will wait...anxiously.
April 6, 2020
A best one.
At my end of life moment, I guess, if there was time and I could go through all of the "a best one" designees, I might be able to choose "THE best one". But since that is, at best, unlikely, I'll be content to confer "a best one" status on whatever impresses the bejeebers out of me. I'm not a gamer. I'm old. I'm genuinely boring. I was never in danger of being elected prom queen, or the life of anyone's party. I've got to fall outside of all target demographics for this genre. And still, I just loved this book. The storytelling is just that good.
Sheltering at home and thankful for Kindle Unlimited. Special thanks to all the indie authors who are making this time go way more pleasantly.
At my end of life moment, I guess, if there was time and I could go through all of the "a best one" designees, I might be able to choose "THE best one". But since that is, at best, unlikely, I'll be content to confer "a best one" status on whatever impresses the bejeebers out of me. I'm not a gamer. I'm old. I'm genuinely boring. I was never in danger of being elected prom queen, or the life of anyone's party. I've got to fall outside of all target demographics for this genre. And still, I just loved this book. The storytelling is just that good.
Sheltering at home and thankful for Kindle Unlimited. Special thanks to all the indie authors who are making this time go way more pleasantly.
March 30, 2020
A LITRPG Masterpiece
Shemer Kuznits once again found an inventive way to keep me as a reader on the edge of my metaphorical seat. Throughout the book, there is an excellent balance between in and out of game mechanics, each of which showcase and help develop the world of Oren. We also see the return of some of our favorite characters from previous iterations of the book, not mention the addition of some new characters who actively defy our expectations. Expect plenty of terrible puns, each slightly more ballsy than the last. All and all, I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in the LITRPG. Thank you Shemer for yet another literary masterpiece
Shemer Kuznits once again found an inventive way to keep me as a reader on the edge of my metaphorical seat. Throughout the book, there is an excellent balance between in and out of game mechanics, each of which showcase and help develop the world of Oren. We also see the return of some of our favorite characters from previous iterations of the book, not mention the addition of some new characters who actively defy our expectations. Expect plenty of terrible puns, each slightly more ballsy than the last. All and all, I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in the LITRPG. Thank you Shemer for yet another literary masterpiece
April 13, 2020
It may be just a game or prison to most, but too Oren, it’s everything
Another exciting, emotional adventure for Oren and his goblin tribe! The Breeder’s Den is finally fixed and churning out monstrous Tripp’s for the Dread Totem Oren Tobias in his conquest! This isn’t just a conquest, it’s also a rescue effort as Oren tries to gather and protect the trapped players within the game world! The VIs have a stake in seeing him fail as they see the trapped players as their insurance for continued existence!
But are the VIs truly against him? Do they even care? Or are they watching and enjoying his struggles like carefree gods?
Another exciting, emotional adventure for Oren and his goblin tribe! The Breeder’s Den is finally fixed and churning out monstrous Tripp’s for the Dread Totem Oren Tobias in his conquest! This isn’t just a conquest, it’s also a rescue effort as Oren tries to gather and protect the trapped players within the game world! The VIs have a stake in seeing him fail as they see the trapped players as their insurance for continued existence!
But are the VIs truly against him? Do they even care? Or are they watching and enjoying his struggles like carefree gods?
May 1, 2020
Enjoyable
Nice continuation of a series. Good to see familiar friends here. What’s keeping it from five stars for me is the troubling implications of all NPCs being driven by Shiva the new overlord AI. Oren remarks several times how weird this feels but there’s no resolution in the book nor for the reader. Tough to care about Oren’s team when you keep feeling they’ve all become truly puppets. Plus it’s tough to see a good guy in the fight to free players when their absence from the game world will mean death for the AIs.
Did I read it? Yes. Enjoy it? Yes. Re read someday like I did with the first two? Likely not — same as third. Still, I’m glad I borrowed and devoured.
Nice continuation of a series. Good to see familiar friends here. What’s keeping it from five stars for me is the troubling implications of all NPCs being driven by Shiva the new overlord AI. Oren remarks several times how weird this feels but there’s no resolution in the book nor for the reader. Tough to care about Oren’s team when you keep feeling they’ve all become truly puppets. Plus it’s tough to see a good guy in the fight to free players when their absence from the game world will mean death for the AIs.
Did I read it? Yes. Enjoy it? Yes. Re read someday like I did with the first two? Likely not — same as third. Still, I’m glad I borrowed and devoured.
May 20, 2020
Excellent
I had just read two books before this. I was skim reading and thought maybe I was tired of reading books. Nope. They just weren’t as good. This book gripped me. Thought the book series was over after the third. Liked the way it had ended. Figured author had run out of ideas and brought it to a conclusion. Then I found this 4th book. Was I ever wrong. Excellent read. Also completely sets the stage for a huge story on a grand scale. So excited for the next book. This was the best of all 4 books in my opinion. I rated all of the very high. I will definitely be reading the next book.
I had just read two books before this. I was skim reading and thought maybe I was tired of reading books. Nope. They just weren’t as good. This book gripped me. Thought the book series was over after the third. Liked the way it had ended. Figured author had run out of ideas and brought it to a conclusion. Then I found this 4th book. Was I ever wrong. Excellent read. Also completely sets the stage for a huge story on a grand scale. So excited for the next book. This was the best of all 4 books in my opinion. I rated all of the very high. I will definitely be reading the next book.
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